If
you were asked what the shape on the left was the most likely answer
was a number three.

But
place exactly the same figure in a different context - among letters
- then it can be read as a B, even though it does not have the upright
bar expected with the letter B. This is what occurs if its is part
of Titbits.

Sometime
in 1968 the Titbits banner heading was changed to that on the right,
presumably because someone liked their titbits to be complete. This
example indicates that the world is not just simply what it appears
to be. What is 'seen' is constructed and represents
an accommodation between what is known and the information received
through the visual sense. A few examples from classic psychology
experiments are shown below to illustrate that we take into account
the context when we 'see' information and that it is the context
that 'determines' what is 'seen'.

In
the first example there is a character rather like the B in the
original Titbits title. But when one reads across, rather than down,
instead of being 'seen' as a letter it is read as the
number 13 because of the context it is in. Similarly the example
with what is normally read as H in the word THE contains a character
that could just as easily be read as an A if the surrounding letters
were C and T as in the word CAT.

The
following sections take this type of explanation of visual perception
a stage further to demonstrate how and why semi-subliminal elements
of ads are often overlooked and yet are subject to the same rules
of perception as other images. They may thus possibly influence
those who view them.

Visual
Perception

The visual system is extremely complex
and it is impossible to do it justice on this site. Interested readers
are recommended to view the article in the edition of the Geographic
magazine containing the original of this small scale reproduction.
Alternatively any psychology
textbook or textbook on perception will provide stimulating reading.
A number of these are listed on the Psychology
Bibliography. The sections below can only give a brief indication
of how we can be both fooled by visual information and how even
ambiguous information can be interpreted meaningfully. There is
also an indication of how such ambiguity, when presented in adverts,
need not prevent automatic processes from extracting some information,
even if this never reaches conscious awareness.

Language
and Images

The
two lists of images and titles are the basis for a simple experiment
that can demonstrate that how we name images affects how we remember
them and also how we might draw what we remember. Note that each
list has identical images. What differs is simply the label that
is attached to each image.

When
people are shown either one or other list and then asked to recall
what they have seen it is almost invariably the case that what they
recall is influenced by the label associated with it. The first
image in each case is a rough diamond shape within a square but
note that the lines of the 'diamond' are slightly curved. When viewers
recall this list the lines are straightened in any drawing that
they produce. In contrast when viewers are given the list with the
label curtains in window they draw even more enhanced curves to
make their drawing much more like 'curtains in a window'. Similar
results apply to most of the items on the list. When individuals
are tested the results are generally not as powerful as when two
groups of people are compared. However, there usually are sufficient
differences even with an individual trying to recall images to make
this a powerful reminder that we do not simply see things.

The
conclusion that is drawn on the basis of such studies is that we
do not simply remember shapes, we associate them with language.
And, if we label objects, then it is the label or name that may
influence our judgements of what we 'see'. Hence, when viewing ambiguous
stimuli or embedded words in ads it is our previous knowledge that
will, in part, determine what we perceive. Advertising agencies
are, of course, familiar with this and other aspects of psychology
and they would be remiss if they did not make use of their knowledge
to facilitate sales. However, when they cross the boundary into
using embedded and other manipulative techniques then this is surely
unacceptable.

ï¿½

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